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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. bark — to shout
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. face — to confront
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. wind — moving air
  7. march — the month
  8. game — wild animals
  9. march — the month
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. game — a match
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. wind — moving air
  15. root — of a word
  16. march — music
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. face — to point toward
  19. root — the cause
  20. root — of a plant
  21. face — part of the head
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. bark — of a tree

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com